In today’s Marketing Edge, I comment on JetBlue’s “customer bill of rights” and how it used public relations strategies to address its situation.

• JetBlue’s “customer bill of rights” sounds like it was written by lawyers for lawyers and not the customer.
• In the letter and the YouTube video, there was no mention of what the passengers who were so inconvenienced were to receive.
• On the JetBlue Web site, it is not clear whether the customer bill of rights was the result of these long delays and cancellations or if it was launched prior to this terrible situation.
• I think they should replace the current video with an updated version, showing the new operations area, where and how changes were made, and even interview customers.

If JetBlue has a loyal customer base (even Business Week had them pegged as a top performer), let them lead the charge with this customer bill of rights. There is a lot for all of us to learn with this situation, we will stay tuned with JetBlue and how it address this situation.

Is this customer-friendly language? From the JetBlue customer bill of rights: “Customers whose flight is delayed prior to scheduled departure for 1-2 hours due to a Controllable Irregularity are entitled to a $25 Voucher good for future travel on JetBlue.”

“Controllable Irregularity”? Come on. Is that really about the customer, or it is written for your legal team?

Second, the YouTube video featuring JetBlue’s CEO was a good use of that venue, but I think it could have been done better. For instance, the CEO should have described the situation. JetBlue let the news accounts set the tone. You’re the company in question, and surely you have a perspective on why and how this happened. Let’s hear it. Don’t let the viewer have to go to other sources to get the story.

The CEO, David Neeleman, seemed to be in a bit of a panic. Hey, there are worse things that can happen on an airplane besides sitting on a tarmac, so let’s keep everything in perspective. I think it makes them look like they don’t know how to run an airline. I mean, does it take this enormous circumstance to produce an effective solution in just two days? So the real question is, “Would you get on a plane if that guy in the video was the pilot?”

I realize it was a chaotic situation, and in the heat of the moment, it must have seemed like all hell was breaking loose. Cool heads need to put a crisis into perspective by considering the long-term impact of what is immediately disclosed. Quick reactions to these issues are important, but a measured reaction may be the best approach. My initial take on the company’s reaction to this situation is overkill, rather than the more appropriate laser-like focus. That said, the stock seemed to have regained its losses, so maybe all of this is for nothing.

In the letter and the video, there was no mention of what the passengers who were so inconvenienced were to receive. Check out Seth Godin’s blog for some perspective in which he doesn’t mince words. Give those most affected passengers a pile of free tickets and just make them happy, Godin suggests. Don’t worry about the millions that are just observing the story.

Now on to the NewComm Forum and our drawing to send one lucky person to the forum in Las Vegas. This included airfare, hotel and registration for one lucky winner. I interviewed our winner, Laurie Mainquist, who works for WindLogics. This will be Lori’s first time to Las Vegas, and she is looking forward to the NewComm Forum. Her company is a world leader in atmospheric modeling and analysis, and it has developed innovative methodologies for assessing long-term financial risk associated with wind energy.

Join me on March 8 at the NewComm Forum, I will be doing a presentation, in which I’ll cover “Interaction and engagement: New media as the key to buyers’ hearts.” Find out what the latest tools and technologies are — and how to use them — at the third annual New Communications Forum, March 7-9 in Las Vegas, sponsored by the Society for New Communications Research and Lawrence Ragan Communications. The NewComm Forum will build on the foundation of social media with examples of format styles, business cases, and how to integrate other social media, including blogs, wikis, videos, and yes, even college class projects, designed to put your product in front of that demographic.

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